


Intimacies

by OnlyTheInevitable



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Intimacies, Seasons 1-7 sporadically, UST, Yearning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 02:37:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19984669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyTheInevitable/pseuds/OnlyTheInevitable
Summary: Ten Times Mulder and Scully were intimate in their own unique way. UST.





	Intimacies

**Author's Note:**

> Huge shout out to my boo admiralty for her amazing beta, support, and helping me come up with a good chunk of these.

**I**

"What's this?" she asked, picking up the metal key he'd set on her desk. She already had a key to the office, she didn't need another one. She flipped it over and saw on the other side, the word 'SCULLY' was written in black marker in Mulder's signature scrawl.

"It's a key to my apartment," he responded. _A permanent key to his apartment._

She felt a look of surprise pass over her face as she raised her gaze to look at him. "W-what's it for?"

He looked at her for a moment, almost nervous, and for some reason it made her nervous. "Are you still available?" he asked. She was learning he was a bit of a flirt, but this was a little bold even for him. She'd just told him that she broke up with Ethan less than a month ago. She still kept forgetting he liked Iced Tea when it was her turn to run and get lunch. _And now he was inviting her over for…?_

"...For what?" she replied, tracing the ridges of the key with her thumb.

"Remember," he started, sitting at his desk while maintaining eye contact with her. "You said you could feed my fish while I go to Pittsburgh this weekend."

Memories of a sleepy agreement dawned on her and she felt embarrassed for jumping to conclusions. "Oh, yeah-sorry," she laughed awkwardly, feeling blood rush to her face.

A surprised smile quirked his lips upwards as he caught sight of her blush. "Did you think-"

"No, no. I just forgot. I'm still available," she interrupted, not wanting to hear him say it out loud.

"Thank you, do you remember the address?" he asked.

"Hegal Place in Alexandria, right?" she replied, diverting her attention to her work.

"2630 Hegal Place, apartment 42," he replied with a nod, seemingly pleased she was right. "Scully," he added, prompting her to look at him.

"Yes?" she replied, looking at him expectantly.

"Are you implying you wouldn't be interested in becoming roommates?" he joked with a wink.

Now, a few days later as she stood in the middle of his apartment, the answer would have to be no.

This was, in every sense of the word, a bachelor pad. She'd fed the fish after searching for the food for a minute, and had spent the rest of the last ten minutes taking a self-guided tour. She didn't want to invade his privacy...she was just _curious._

A framed basketball jersey, an odd affinity for Aztecian home decor, a refrigerator filled with expired foods and liquids, it was so stereotypically 'man cave'-y that she couldn't help but smile. She could see the quirks she'd noticed in the office manifest here. Being in his apartment, in some odd way, felt like being with Mulder. His sunflower seeds were in a pile on his kitchen table, surrounded by... copies of _The Lone Gunman?_ She hadn't heard about that publication, but he seemed to have quite a collection.

Not only were the traces of Mulder activity present, but she could still smell his cologne around the apartment. She chastised herself for how oddly comforting the whole place was. _Minus the fact his bedroom looked like a storage unit for miscellaneous crap rather than a place to sleep._

When she'd decided she'd intruded quite enough, she went into the living room to grab her purse off the table but got distracted by the bottom row of his bookshelf - which was filled with something that didn't quite look like books.

Upon bending over, she was met with:

_Night Trips_

_Nothing to Hide_

_Debbie Does Dallas_

_Latex_

_The Opening of Misty Beethoven_

_In the Office_

Her mouth dropped open as her eyes widened at the collection. _Oh my god...there were so many._ She wasn't disgusted or anything, it was natural he'd want to...stress relief, but surely-

Well, actually, they never actually brought up if he had anyone. It didn't seem like he had a girlfriend, sometimes she could tell he was lonely. She still regretted teasing him with " _Unlike you, Mulder, I would like to have a life."_ It hurt his feelings and she could tell. But, he was an attractive man. There was no denying that. Surely if he wanted to...indulge himself…it wouldn't be hard for him to find someone who wanted to join. _Even I-_

She stood up quickly, breaking her own train of thought and shaking it from her mind. _This is why you don't intrude, Dana._

**II**

Usually she was pretty good at checking forecasts before they ran off to whatever part of the country Mulder dragged them to. This was not one of those occasions. _She just didn't realize how fucking cold it got in Indiana at night. It was only September_. _But heaven forbid Mulder warn her, he clearly knew to come prepared if his big warm jacket was any indication._

Mulder'd asked her several times if she was cold, but all it did was serve to piss her off more. They'd been snapping at each other since they got here and every little thing was just aggravating him. The flight was late, the witness stood them up, the police were treating them like jokes. He clearly was pissed off because he felt bad he'd dragged her there, and she was pissed off that he was acting like she was just following him around and that it wasn't her assignment too or her _choice_ to go there.

It was just a series of little things being blown out of proportion and it was even more frustrating being that they both could acknowledge they weren't really mad at the other but they were too _fucking stunted apparently_ to just apologize.

They'd been walking for a few blocks now, the 'three blocks over' the sheriff had told them in reference to a diner was turning into fifteen, clearly either being wrong or a practical joke. Her jaw hurt from clenching so hard to keep her teeth from chattering. It was juvenile, but she didn't want him to take her freezing as another lash of guilt to add to himself.

"Scully- he started.

"I'm _fine_ , Mulder," she replied tersely as she stabbed her fingers against the 'walk' button.

She drew her arms into her chest in an attempt to compartmentalize her warmth, and then suddenly she felt something warm and relieving drape around her shoulders. She looked over and saw he'd taken off his coat to give it to her with a look of contrition littering his face. "Listen, Scully. I'm sorry I've been short with you all day."

She grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled them further in on herself, burying her face against it and internally reveling in the lingering scent of him still present. "I'm sorry too. I just don't want you to think I'm some stray dog you brought along for the ride-"

"I'd never think of you that way," he interrupted gently.

"Then stop saying you 'dragged me out here.' I wouldn't have come if I didn't want to," she told him earnestly.

"Thank you," he replied softly, placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to help warm her up as they walked across the street. "I guess I'm just a little embarrassed," he shrugged.

"Don't be, they just don't understand you," she comforted, feeling exponentially better in the warmth of him.

"Well," he sighed, rubbing up and down her arm as she bumped into his side from walking so close. "At least you do."

**III**

"Wait," she called out, stopping him as he turned to part ways in the middle of the parking garage.

He turned back around wordlessly, waiting for her to continue, and was surprised to see that she seemed more shy than she'd just been a moment ago. She started fumbling around in her purse as she talked, and as much as it was probably to find whatever object she was looking for, he was equally suspicious that she was avoiding eye contact. "I, um. I just thought that, you know, since we're in so many stressful situations all the time that it might be convenient for you to have this."

As if punctuating that last word, she pulled out something small and silver and extended her hand out to him. He held his hand out and let her drop something metallic into his palm. When she pulled back, he saw it was a key and he felt oddly proud of this display of trust. "Is this to your apartment?"

She lowered her gaze and paid a slightly ridiculous amount of attention to zipping her purse. "Yeah, I just figured that if I have yours it's only fair that you have mine."

"Thank you," he smiled, pulling his keyring out from his pocket and flipping them so that her key would be right next to his.

"But use it wisely, Mulder," she warned lightheartedly. "This isn't an invitation for you to bust into my apartment whenever you please."

"You're no fun," he teased.

**IV**

_Should he leave? Does she know he's here?_

They'd been investigating a lead at a church and he lost sight of her. When he caught up with her, he found her kneeling at a pew with her hands clasped in front of her. He could see her lips faintly moving and he suddenly felt like he'd intruded on something extremely intimate.

Yet he couldn't look away. It was touching, seeing her in her element, and in this moment he felt like he got a taste of what it was like for her to work with him everyday.

He didn't understand it; on a fundamental level this wholehearted trust in one being to have complete and utter control in your life seemed overwhelming. It was the very same thing he fought against everyday, he couldn't imagine finding any comfort and solace in it.

But yet he respected it because it meant so much to her. To her it was the backbone of her being, a guide for all she did. And anything that meant so much to Scully was important.

He was watching her perform this ritual with practiced grace. He felt like it might have been intrusive, but he watched her lips move with rapt fascination. He saw the word 'mom', he saw 'Bill', and then he saw something that made his breath catch in his throat.

Scully prayed for him.

**V**

"Mulder," he states into the phone, only to be answered with dead silence for ten seconds. He adjusts the phone against his ear as he turns his blinker on to switch lanes. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Scully's voice replied from the other end. She sounded apprehensive, but he figured maybe she was worried because he wasn't usually late to work.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I'm almost there," he apologized, turning onto the street of the Hoover Building.

"Oh... um. Okay, I'll see you here," she answered oddly.

Something was off but he wasn't sure what it was. "Is everything okay? Did you need something?" he asked.

"No, no. It's fine, nevermind," she rushed.

"If you need me to pick something up for you I can, I promise it's no inconvenience at all," he earnestly reassured as he passed the entrance for the parking garage.

"Can you pick me up some-," the last word she said was mumbled and he was curious if there was someone in the office she didn't want to overhear.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"Could you pick me up some tampons? I don't have any and I can't find a dispenser or a generous coworker and I _really_ need them," she mumbled.

_Scully was asking him to do a personal favor._

Sometimes he felt like he unloaded so much of his own personal baggage onto her and she never asked for anything in return. In all honesty, they'd been partners for three years now, yet she was still a bit of an enigma to him. It didn't matter to Mulder in the slightest that asking him was her last choice, he was just over the moon that she'd tasked him with something so important and not work-related.

"Of course I can. I'll stop by Walgreens right now," he comforted. He could only try to empathize with her situation and even then he felt like he wasn't doing it justice. _Was she in pain? Was she bleeding on herself?_

He really didn't know, but what he did know was that he wanted to do all he could to help her.

"Thank you, Mulder. I really appreciate it," she replied.

"Don't mention it. I'll see you in a few."

He lasted a minute in the aisle before calling her again. "At the risk of sounding like a stupid man, I'm confused," he admitted.

"Usually there's a feminine hygiene section next to the pharmacy-"

"No, I found them. I just found _too many_ of them. What do the letters mean? Does it matter what color they are?" he asked, scanning the aisle filled with boxes adorned with women playing tennis on them.

He could hear her smiling and was glad to know his confusion was easing her prior self-consciousness. "Um, aim for getting the ones that say S plus, please. If you see a multipack that'd be great."

He looked around and found a section dedicated to multipacks and there he saw 'S plus' meant 'Super Plus' and his heart went out to her. "Do you want Kotex, Playtex, or Tampax?"

"Whichever's cheapest is fine," she replied before quickly adding. "But no cardboard applicators!"

"Cardboard applicators?" he repeated, confused.

He heard her chuckle under her breath before informing him, "The part you put in to get the tampon in. Most are a smooth plastic, but some sadistic, cheap man invented ones with cardboard instead and they hurt."

 _Well that man be damned._ "Okay, how does a one hundred and twenty pack, equally divided between 'R', 'S', and 'S plus', of Kotex with a plastic applicator sound?" he asked, grabbing the box.

"That's probably expensive. I'm really fine with just the small pack," she told him as he walked to the chocolate aisle.

"Sure. I have to pick up a few things, but I'll be over in a sec okay?" he replied.

_Kotex 120 Pack - $24.99_

_Midol Complete Symptoms 40 Capsules - $6.99_

_M &Ms - $0.99_

_Tax: 3.42_

_Total: $36.39_

On the way into the building he started to fear she'd be mad at him for getting things she didn't ask for, but he felt confident in his decision when he walked into the office and caught her grabbing her side with a pained grimace on her face, her lips pouting and her brows furrowing in discomfort. "Hey," he greeted gently, not wanting to startle her.

She jumped and immediately let go of her side and put on a brave face, making him worry how many times she's hidden her pain in the past. "Hey, thank you," she smiled as she took the bag from him, her smile turning into confusion when she realized how heavy the bag was.

He stuffed the receipt in his pocket as he sat down, trying not to make a big deal out of this. "Mulder," she drew out, shifting the contents around the bag for inspection. "This is very sweet, but you really didn't have to."

"I know," he shrugged, turning on his computer.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked.

"Nothing, they were giving stuff away for free," he teased.

"Mulder, no. This must've been expensive. I-"

"Consider it a thank you for all the hard work you do even though you're in pain. I don't mean that condescending or anything, I just feel bad that you have to deal with this every month," he explained awkwardly.

She smiled at him and looked back at the bag before gasping, "M&Ms!"

**VI**

" _Mulder, I'm fine."_

He hadn't even asked the question and he could already hear her curt answer. It was the same answer he'd been getting for the past month.

But she wasn't fine, and it was obvious.

He understood it was hard for someone as private as her to open up, but he wished she recognized it was just as hard to have to sit and watch her get thinner, paler, and sicker everyday yet be expected not to care.

And that's really all he could do. Sit and watch.

Which is what he was doing and how he noticed the way her body lurched while she was looking at her computer, eyes widening before standing up as all the color drained from her face. "Scull-" he began to question.

"I have to go t-" her words were only the ghost of a whisper, as if she didn't want to actually give them a voice, but he still heard them.

She turned to leave but just as quickly turned on her heel and let her eyes scan the floor as she raised a hand to her mouth.

_Oh_

He jumped up and quite literally leaped into action, reaching an arm to the side of the desk she wasn't on and pulling the trash can from the floor so he could pass it to her.

She snatched it out of his hand in her hurry and turned her back to him as she set the trash can on the floor, fell to her knees, and threw up. Her entire body was being wracked from the force of her vomiting, and he was at her side in a minute.

He grabbed her hair, focusing on the front and sides to avoid any strands falling and getting in the way. With his other hand, he rubbed soothing circles on her back as he whispered, "It's okay, Scully. Let it out. Please don't cry."

He felt himself trying not to choke on the last words as he saw her lip quiver in between her now sporadic bouts of dry-heaving. The first two rounds were powerful, what looked like her entire, miniscule lunch coming up, but these last few were just strained sounds as her body tried to throw up nothing - which was all she had left.

Mulder took his hand off her back momentarily as he strained to grab his mug of water from his desk, eventually looping his fingers around it and pulling it down to give to her. "Here," he offered as she sat up straighter.

She looked at the cup only, avoiding his eyes, and grabbed it with both hands before bringing it up to her lips and taking small sips. "It's just a side effect of the medicine I'm taking," she murmured softly into the cup.

He knew. _Nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, confusion, weight changes, mood swings._ He looked up every single piece of information he could find when he was able to read the medicine label one day. _It was the only way he could bite his tongue when he saw her sway on her feet or ask the same question twice within five minutes or continue wearing her old clothes even though they hung off her skeletal body or when she managed to look him in the eye and tell him she was seriously fucking fine. It made it easier on him; She wasn't dying, it was the medicine._

"I didn't want you to see that," she admitted and he felt like he'd finally taken a breath of fresh air after suffocating for weeks. _She was being honest._

He watched as she untucked the trash bag from the can, bringing the edges together and tying them up to conceal her puke. "I want you to know I'll always be here for you," he told her.

She looked over at him and he saw her eyes were red, puffy, and wet. No tears had fallen, but they were wet enough to reflect her pain to him. The same pain he heard in her voice when she said, "I know you will."

**VII**

He was a little worried when she wasn't answering or returning his calls. His worry morphed into full blown concern when she wouldn't answer the door when he knocked. _Want to meet at my apartment at six?_

They had plenty of time before they needed to be in Harrisburg, but it was unlike Scully to be late, even more unlike her to be unresponsive. He got out his key ring and found the one he seldom had the opportunity to use.

He timidly let himself into her apartment with his key, not wanting to evoke fury from his not-so-morning person partner. "Scully?" he called out, letting the door close behind him. All the lights were off, the only light streaming in through the blinds and making the dust motes in the air dance.

_Surely she didn't get the plans mixed up._

He heard a sound from down the hall and he followed it calling her name once more before reaching the doorway of her bedroom to alert her of his presence.

_Oh._

Scully, his perfectly punctual partner, slept in.

The blinds to her window were pulled up completely so he could see her perfectly through the blue light of morning. He felt himself holding his breath in an unneeded attempt to maintain the serenity of the room as he tiptoed to the other side of the bed to get a look at her fully.

She looked so diminutive under the covers and he couldn't believe that the little bundle wrapped in quilts was actually his partner. When he moved enough to see her face, he couldn't help the smile that broke out onto his face. She'd kill him if she knew he thought it, but she looked so _cute._

She was laying on her side and cuddling one of her many pillows, embracing it with her arms and draping her top leg over it protectively. _For the first time in his life, he was jealous of a pillow._ Her hair was unruly and puffy, but didn't obscure his view of her peaceful face.

He froze for a second when he heard her make a sound, immediately realizing how creepy he'd seem if she just woke up to him hovering next to her. But instead of waking up, she just made a little sleepy whining sound and tightened her grip on the pillow, burrowing her cheek against it.

Her lips were parted as her usually stoic face took on an almost childlike innocence. He felt in this moment how he did looking at the little perfection in life - blankets of virgin snow, the surface of a lake without any ripples, dawn breaking in the distance on a cool morning. All made his breath stop as he couldn't resist stopping and taking in the fleeting beauty.

He wished it could last forever, but he knew he had to be the one to wake her.

Easing down onto his haunches next to the bed, so they were face to face, he tentatively raised a hand and brushed some hair away from her face. It almost seemed like she recognized on some subconscious level that he'd done that because a small cooing sound of comfort escaped her lips as her tongue came out to lick her lips. _He didn't think he'd ever said 'awwww' so many times in his head before as he had since entering this room._

"Scully," he whispered, stroking her cheek.

He didn't get a response so he moved to her arm, squeezing lightly, "Scully."

" _MMgoo'night,"_ she murmured, barely moving her lips and still deep in sleep's clutches.

He couldn't help but chuckle at that as he told her, "No, no, Scully. It's morning. We have to leave soon."

An adorable frown tugged on her lips as her brows furrowed - the first footfall in the snow, the ripple in the pond. "Five more minutes, please," she begged in an uncharacteristically whiney voice.

"I have coffee for us in the car," he prompted.

She must've actually registered him that time because her eyes started to flutter open, lazily flitting around until they landed on his face. He smiled at her sweetly in an attempt to prevent her from getting startled.

"Mulder?" she asked, sleep still thick in her voice.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"Wha's wrong?" she asked, raising herself up on one hand as the other came up to her face to rub her eyes.

As she raised herself, the quilt fell from her and revealed the tight tank top she'd been wearing as a pyjamas. She wasn't wearing a bra and he wasn't prepared to be face to face with Dana Scully's barely concealed, perfect breasts so early in the morning.

"Uh, n-nothing. You just weren't answering my calls and I was worried something was wrong," he answered, clearing his throat and trying not to gawk as her body reacted to the cool morning air.

She looked confused and rolled away from him, craning her neck to presumably look at a clock on the other nightstand. As she did this, the quilt twisted in her legs and pulled down, revealing the bottom portion of her pyjamas.

Or lack thereof.

To add another thing that was just making this the best morning of his life, he just got an eyeful of Dana Scully's underwear clad ass. She gasped and whipped back over to him and his eyes shot to the ceiling. "Oh my god, Mulder! I'm so sorry!"

"Y-you're fine," he assured as she jumped out of bed and inadvertently rubbed against him while running to her closet.

"We're so late!" she rushed, the navy brat in her coming out. If they left right now, they'd be an hour early.

"Scully, take your time," he said as he watched her grab a pantsuit at random and rush to the bathroom, trying his best to ignore the way her lithe body moved in the morning light. "Um, I'll give you some privacy. I'll wait out in the living room."

"I'm so sorry!" she called out again to the man who felt like the luckiest guy alive.

**VIII**

She'd been asleep for the last three hours of the drive and only woke up because there were too many cars around them for him to avoid this particular pothole. Mulder tried not to stare as she did her adorable little stretches to wake up and orient herself.

She rubbed her eyes before quietly groaning, " _Shit."_

"Hmm?" he hummed in recognition, internally rejoicing that he got to hear her swear.

"I forgot I was wearing makeup," she mumbled, pulling the visor down and looking at herself in the mirror.

Mulder wasn't sure what she was doing, but she was just making little adjustments and wipes here and there with her fingers. She looked under the visor to make sure they were at a red light before turning to him. "Do I look okay?"

He knew his answer before he even turned to look at her, but he pretended to have to check just to take the opportunity to examine her face. She was letting herself be on full display, looking directly at him and jutting her chin out, slightly rotating her head around so he could get the full Scully-experience. "You always look good," he replied honestly.

She smiled, despite herself, and rolled her eyes. "No seriously. Is my makeup smudged? Does it look even?"

They just stared at each other for a moment, her trying to find signs something was off in his eyes and him just enjoying looking at hers. Taking a chance, he raised a hand to her face and cupped her cheek. He felt as much as he saw her breath catch as she remained totally still. He lifted his thumb and very carefully stroked the skin under one of her eyes. She looked up to, he assumed, give him better access, and it made him happy to see this small display of trust.

As quickly as it started, he pulled his hand back into his lap, and murmured, "Perfect."

They both knew he wasn't talking about her makeup.

**IX**

She should just give up. She finally tried to go on a date after an embarrassingly long dry spell, one that seemed to correlate perfectly to her work on the X Files, and she got stood up. Well, kind of. She was completely dressed and on her way to the restaurant, the one that _required a monetary donation in order to get a reservation,_ and he decided to call last minute and cancel. No raincheck though, apparently his _wife_ wasn't fond of polygamy. Go figure.

For a moment she considered pulling over and having herself a good cry, just let herself have a moment to indulge in some good ol' self-pity, but by the time she found a place to park, she found herself right outside Mulder's apartment. It was funny how things seemed to work out like that.

She turned off the car and took a moment to look at herself in the rearview mirror and evaluate her situation.

_One, she looked sexy right now. Hair, makeup, dress. She looked damn good._

_Two, she would only lose out on the money she spent on the reservation. Insult to injury._

_Three, Mulder would say yes. He loved food and he loved hanging out with her._

_Four, she'd rather be on a date with him anyway._

_But it wasn't going to be a date._ That's what she told herself as she made her way to his door. _She had been intending to go on a date, and now she was just hanging out with her best friend. No more, no less._

He opened the door on the third knock and his normal greeting of "Hey, Scully" managed to morph into "He-oh my god...you look...Scully, you look fantastic." His appreciation of the hard work she'd put into choosing a dress made her feel somehow validated. Appreciated. She figured it had something to do with the fact that she'd been holding every dress up in the mirror and thinking about whether or not he'd have that very same reaction.

She loved being right.

"Thank you," she smiled, pretending like the newly exposed tops of her breasts were something he saw everyday and that she wasn't noticing the way his eyes were unabashedly roaming. _She might've noticed if this was a date, maybe even teased him a little. But this was not a date_. "I was just curious if you were busy tonight?"

"No, why?" he asked, and she ignored the hint of hope she heard in his voice because no one ever sounded that eager to hang out with their friends. Which is what this was.

"My mom tried to set me up on a date, but he cancelled while I was on my way and the dinner reservations are non-refundable. So, I was hoping, since I'm not going on a date anymore, if you'd want to just go grab some dinner with me?" she asked, hoping she managed to subtly emphasize her point.

"He cancelled? Was this a blind date?" he asked, incredulous shock in his tone.

She laughed lightly and walked through the door when he ushered her to. "No, we've actually met a few times. He goes to my mother's church."

She heard Mulder grumble something under his breath that sounded really close to 'what an idiot' but before she had a chance to ask him to repeat himself he stated. "Of course, I'd love to go with you and salvage your evening, but if you're any indication, I'm severely underdressed. Where is it?"

"It's at Un restaurant français chic," she told him, tucking a wavy tendril of hair behind her ear.

"I'll go put on my suit," he nodded, walking to his bedroom.

"Oh, Mulder, I really don't want to put you out. You look fine," she called out.

"Not when you look like that!" he replied, closing the door.

She caught her reflection in a nearby mirror and couldn't help but smile. She'd done her eye makeup darker than normal, her hair was waved, and both served to compliment her face nicely. Her dress was midnight black with thin spaghetti straps, a heart shaped neckline, and a slit up the side, emphasizing her leg.

_She looked good and she was glad he got to see it._

Within a few minutes, Mulder came out of the bedroom wearing what had to have been the best fitting suit known to man. She whistled appreciatively and he ducked his head and smiled. He stopped near her, next to the mirror to look at himself. "Do I look okay?" he asked, his eyes roaming aimlessly as they'd never fall on an imperfection.

"You clean up wonderfully, partner," she confirmed.

He smiled and turned, but she stopped him with a gentle hand on his chest. Mulder looked at her wordlessly as she adjusted his tie, biting a smile as she watched his adam's apple bob nervously under her touch.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready," he smiled, leading her with his hand on the small of her back.

**X**

She was a strong, independent woman. She was resilient, she was self-reliant, and she was proud. She was the last person who would ever want to fall privy to the gender stereotypes often forced upon her.

But she couldn't for the life of her figure out how to fix her goddamned sink. It'd been leaking for days and she just couldn't figure out how to get it to stop. To top it all off, her apartment complex's maintenance guy was creepy and she didn't want him in her apartment - and her schedule was too hectic to call someone.

That left one option.

"Hey? Can you stop by my place after work?" she asked from across the desk.

He looked surprised, but curious. "Yeah, why?"

"I'm not asking you because you're a man and I assume you know how, but because I know you're a good problem solver," she began.

"Wow, what a preamble," he teased.

She rolled her eyes and explained, "My sink is broken and I don't have the right tools to fix it nor do I understand how to."

"Say no more, I'm your man," he boasted.

He'd said that with so much confidence that she could barely believe her eyes when she walked behind him a few hours later and saw he was browsing the internet for 'How to fix a sink.' He quickly clicked onto a different document when he noticed her presence but she pretended that she hadn't been paying attention to him. She felt herself smile even though she was trying her hardest to repress it, that was just too sweet and so incredibly Mulder of him.

To say she was excited to see how this panned out was an understatement. She knew Mulder was a quick learner and eager to please, but, honestly, looking back she couldn't think of a time she'd ever seen him do anything handyman-esque.

They'd agreed on seven and he showed up at six thirty. "I'm sorry I'm so early, I can leave and come back," he apologized when he took in her wet hair and fluffy bathrobe.

"No, no, I just got out of the shower. This is perfect timing, come on in." As he walked passed her, she admired his new outfit. He was wearing old, worn blue jeans with a heather gray t-shirt. It was a casual side of him that she couldn't help but admire. _He looked really good._

"Is it the kitchen sink or bathroom sink?" he asked.

"Bathroom," she motioned. She followed him down the hall and flicked on the light switch for him. "Sorry it's warm in here. I _just_ got out of the shower."

"It smells like you," he replied. Then, as if embarrassed he said that, he teased her by playing mechanic, putting on a deep, 'manly' voice, "So little lady, what seems to be the problem."

Indulging him for once, she made her voice airy and breathy and, in a faux southern drawl, replied, "Well, my pipes just won't stop leakin'."

As if they realized the innuendo at the same time, they burst out laughing. "Okay, sorry. No-it just honestly is dripping everywhere."

"Too wet?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes and slapped his arm lightly as he set his tool bag on the sink. She didn't bring attention to the store tag she saw still attached. "I think I can take care of that," he replied, pulling out a wrench. She wondered how many tutorials he read to know exactly what tool to use.

He bent down and opened her cabinets before turning so he was on his back, looking upwards. From her vantage point she could just see from chest down and it was an erotic sight she hadn't anticipated. Most plumbers exposed their asscrack, but Mulder was letting his defined adonis belt peek out over his jeans and under his slightly raised shirt. "How long has this been an issue?" he asked, making conversation.

"About two weeks," she answered, clearing her throat.

"Make sure to do it the right way this time," she teased, suddenly remembering when he offered his help a few cases ago and how absolutely horrible that had worked out.

"Haha, very funny," he chuckled.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," she smirked, watching him work.

"Why didn't you ask me sooner?" he asked, accompanying the sounds of cranking.

"I wanted to figure it out. I tried to tighten it myself, but I think I just couldn't get it," she replied, watching the way his hips lightly thrust upwards from the force of his cranks.

"It looks like you were close," he comforted, though she didn't know if it was necessarily true.

"Thanks," she smiled.

"Try the sink," he told her.

She awkwardly tried to reach the faucet, but ended up having to stand right next to him while hoping her robe didn't gape open and expose herself.

The sink ran and she heard him let out a triumphant sound before he hit her legs with his face. "Sorry," she laughed, stepping back as he placed a hand on her calf to pull himself up.

"No, you're fine," he chuckled. Mulder stood up, a few wet stops from the prior drip blossoming on his shirt.

She hadn't expected it to be so fast and she didn't want him to leave quite yet. _I mean he drove all the way here and all._ "Want to stay for coffee?" she asked, tucking a wet strand behind her ear.

He smiled at her, clearly not having wanted to leave himself and nodded, "Yeah."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys liked it! You can find me on Twitter and Tumblr @gaycrouton


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